Saticoy Country Club: Strawberry Fields Forever
As a writer for various national golf magazines, I have had the good fortune to play some of the country's most fabled courses, from Pebble Beach to Oakland Hills, Cypress Pointe to Riviera, and points beyond. I am admittedly spoiled. So imagine my amazement when someone told me that some of the nation's best golf was hidden away in Somis, California, somewhere in the rural hinterlands between Camarillo and Ventura. I'll believe it when I see it, I said snootily.
Well, hush my mouth. Saticoy Country Club turns out to be my favorite course in Southern California, hands down, and ranks among my top ten anywhere. People gush about LACC and Bel-Air and such, and those courses aren't to be disparaged, but dollar-for-dollar, a membership at the William F. Bell-designed Saticoy CC could be the best tee-to-green value in these here United States. Conditioning is always superb, the greens run like inmates during a prison break and the design itself is an exacting test of one's shotmaking abilities. It's tough as nails without being unfair. All this in an area better known for strawberries and avocados than for high-end golf action!
Always the best-kept secret among golf cognoscenti, under the stewardship of affable general manager Tom Szwedzinski, Saticoy has only gotten better. He is one of the most capable and experienced golf-brains on the West Coast, and serves his members with aplomb and a fine sense of humor (you need both in this sometimes high-pressure environment). Thus, everything from the food to the pro shop to course maintenance meet the highest standards. And the better news is they have openings for new members: I suggest you jump at the chance. Call (805)485-4956 and ask for the guy with the unpronounceable last name. Tom will be happy to fill you in.....
About this blog
A Detroit native, David Weiss fled Motown for Los Angeles in 1978 and began to write for Daily Variety and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, primarily as a music critic with a focus on jazz. His own music career started soon thereafter, with the surrealistic funk band Was (Not Was), then various gigs as a composer and producer, working with Bob Dylan and Rickie Lee Jones among others. In a parallel universe, Weiss has been filing golf and travel stories for T&L Golf, Golfweek and The New York Times and is a regular contributor to NPR's "Day to Day" program, doing stories on music and all things cultural.
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